Steve Georganas (Hindmarsh, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker has received a letter from the honourable Leader of the Nationals, the member for Wide Bay, proposing that a definite matter of public importance be submitted to the House for discussion, namely:

The failure of the Budget to address cost of living pressures on Australian families.

I call upon those members who approve of the proposed discussion to rise in their places.

More than the number of members required by the standing orders having risen in their places—

Warren Truss (Wide Bay, National Party, Leader of the Nationals) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Three years ago in his 2010 budget night address, the Treasurer announced:

A strategy that will see the budget return to surplus in three years' time, three years ahead of schedule …

Two years ago the budget speech insisted:

We will be back in the black by 2012-13, on time, as promised. The alternative—meandering back to surplus—would compound the pressures in our economy and push up the cost of living for pensioners and working people.

One year ago he announced:

The four years of surpluses I announce tonight are a powerful endorsement of the strength of our economy …'

On Tuesday this week, in this year's budget, he says:

We have taken the responsible course to delay the return to surplus.

'Delay the return to surplus'! Under Labor there will never be a surplus. In spite of promising 500 times, going way back to 2010, that there would be a surplus in 2012-13, there is no surplus and there is, frankly, no surplus in sight. Five record budget deficits and two more at least yet to come. But no-one really believes that Labor has a plan in place which could actually deliver a surplus. The current Treasurer is pathologically incapable of doing it. The government is incapable of managing its finances to deliver a surplus. The government is so wasteful, so imprudent, so unable to manage its own affairs that there will always be deficits.

What alarms me about this government is that they do not even seem to care anymore about the deficits. We keep getting excuses: 'It doesn't really matter. There are other people with bigger deficits than us, so it doesn't really matter anymore.' What this government with its cavalier approach is doing is sentencing future generations of Australians to paying for their inability to manage their affairs. They are relying on an incoming government sometime in the future to pick up the bills for promises made but not funded in this budget—for the failure to be able to deliver a balanced budget over so many years.

The government has been incapable of balancing this budget, even though it collects $80 billion more in revenue than the last budget of the Howard government. The Treasurer keeps giving us excuses about the global financial crisis, coolness in the resource sector or a range of other excuses. But whatever his excuses are, the facts are he has at his disposal in this budget $80 billion more than the Howard government had in its last budget. That budget produced a surplus. Labor cannot produce a surplus, even with $80 billion worth of extra revenue. The reason for that, fundamentally, is that it is spending $120 billion more than the last Howard government.

People might not mind so much if it were not wasted or if in fact there were genuine measures put in place to ensure that that amount could be paid for. But, in reality, the money has been wasted. Labor is spending its way into deficit. There has been no loss of revenue; there have been increases in revenue. What there has been is an extravagance of expenditure: on pink batts, on overpriced school halls, on all sorts of other wasteful programs—things that in actual fact have not delivered a more productive society.

Today we see complaints again about a loss of revenue. There has been one phrase missing in Labor's rhetoric during this budget—one we heard a lot during the last budget—and that was the phrase that Labor was 'spreading the proceeds of the boom'. Today, the bad news is: there isn't any boom. This government has destroyed it. This government has driven away the incentive to invest. It has taxed away the capacity for people to want to actually invest in this country and deliver the boom. Labor has destroyed the boom. There are no proceeds left to distribute.

You just have to look at the mining tax. When it was originally proposed, Labor said it would collect $4 billion this year. Later they had to revise it downward to $3 billion and then $2.2 billion. But how much are they actually collecting? Two hundred million dollars. That is the proceeds of the boom: $200 million.

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

Warren Truss (Wide Bay, National Party, Leader of the Nationals) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Lucky they are not in business—absolutely. And the prospects are not too much better for the future. The promised $22 billion is now down to $3.3 billion. As a result, they have had to go in and axe programs like the regional investment fund—$2 billion gone from the promises made to regional Australia. I wonder where the member for Lyne and the member for New England are. These are the people who backed the mining tax because they were given a promise that there would be investments in regional Australia. That promise was broken this week in this budget. The $2 billion promised is gone—the spreading of the proceeds of the boom that no longer exists. The government often talk about the extra tax that they would receive if they collected the same share of GDP as the Howard government collected. Well, if they spent the same share of GDP as the Howard government did, they would be in surplus.

Families have nothing to show for this government and its expenditure. What we got on Tuesday night was more debt, more deficits and more deceit. The Prime Minister's 'we will all share in the gain' mantra has now turned into 'we will all share in the pain'. Australian families are to be slugged with $25 billion in higher taxes over the next four years. There are more taxes on super, the higher Medicare levy, the removal of promised cuts to family tax, and a range of other tax increases. Labor like to say that they have made $43 billion worth of savings in this budget, but of that $43 billion worth of savings $25 billion is actually new taxes. It is not savings at all; it is taking more off Australian families and businesses for Labor's spending program.

The Treasurer has now confirmed that the gross government debt will not just exceed the $300 billion debt ceiling but bust it wide open at $370 billion. Yesterday in question time, when asked about this matter, the Treasurer said that gross debt in 2012-13 is $292.8 million; in 2013-14, it will be $321.3 million; in 2014-15 it will be $345 million; and the peak is $356 million. Putting aside the fact that he got his millions and billions mixed up—not altogether surprising for this Treasurer, particularly when he is drawing up his expenses and his receipts—he actually stopped the answer because, if he had read one more year, he would have got a peak of $370 billion. When they legislate to increase the credit card limit, which is what will have to be done for the fourth time, they will need a minimum of about $400 billion to keep up with their runaway expenditure—the debt that Australians have to pay back. The government cannot make light of it; it all has to be paid back.

It is even worse when you consider that they inherited, in the bank, $70 billion. They have squandered the inheritance, and the money that was put aside to help future generations pay for the extra health and welfare costs of an ageing society has all been spent and wasted rather than being a legacy that could be used when it is going to be needed to meet the extra costs of an ageing society.

When the previous Labor government left office, they had a $96 billion mess of net debt to be cleaned up. Paying that back took the coalition government the best part of a decade. It required prudent and responsible economic management by the Howard government and a really mature and patient understanding from the Australian people. There are 16 of us in the coalition who were ministers through those years, and we know the discipline that was required. It is staggering to think that paying back Labor's debt over the same period would require a $30 billion surplus every year. This government has never produced a surplus. The next government is going to have to find a surplus of $30 billion a year just to remove the debt, let alone starting to rebuild the nest egg that is going to be necessary to meet the cost as our society ages and to meet the costs that will be required to manage our economy and our society in the way we would wish.

Labor's idea of prudent financial management, at a time when cost-of-living pressures are skyrocketing, is adding more baggage to families and to businesses to further constrain the economy. The Treasurer keeps saying that, no matter who is in government, they will have the same challenge of falling tax receipts, which would have to be confronted in a tough budget. Well, the basic premise that receipts would have fallen even under a coalition government is wrong. Falling revenues directly correlate to the crisis of business and consumer confidence that has been created by this government. Hopefully, we will do things better, take advantage of the global situation and be able to build on Australia's natural strength. We have seen failed policies that impinge on investment—like the mining tax, the carbon tax and the chopping and changing in superannuation taxes that undermines people's retirement savings. Families are frightened about what is going to happen next under Labor. They are fearful that, if they stick their heads up and make a go of something, this government will come down on them like a tonne of bricks. Business investment is being deferred, and big-ticket consumer spending is also being deferred.

The government is always desperate for excuses, but each one of these excuses is hollow. The Treasurer said again today that the high value of the dollar was the reason why the government was in financial crisis. Well, the reality is that the government does not get many figures right in its budget—some say it gets none—but, in the 2012-13 budget, the government predicted that the average value of the Australian dollar would be US$1.03. And guess what it was: US$1.03. That was the only figure the government got right. It budgeted on it being US$1.03, and now it wants to make an excuse because it got its budget right on one number.

They said, 'The trade weighted index has moved against us.' They got that right. They predicted it would be 77 in the last budget, and that is exactly what it has turned out to be. Now they want to use that as an excuse. This government has placed intolerable pressures on Australian families. Since Labor was elected, electricity has gone up by 93.8 per cent, water and sewage by 63.1 per cent, utilities by 79 per cent, gas by 61.8 per cent, insurance by 45.4 per cent, education by 38.7 per cent, rents by 30.2 per cent and housing by 29.6 per cent. Labor has imposed all of these additional burdens on families at a tough time. Yet through this budget they have means-tested family tax benefits. They have got rid of the baby bonus. They have frozen family tax benefits A and B. They introduced a flood tax in a previous budget and now there is a levy on Medicare. The government has cut and capped the childcare rebate. They have means-tested the 30 per cent rebate on private health insurance. They have means-tested the medical expenses tax offset and now require an extra amount before anyone can claim it.

There are dozens of these additional tax burdens that Labor has imposed on Australian families. This is a government that has lost its way. It cannot balance a budget. It has no idea how it can turn our nation to prosperity to pay off its own debts. It has no plan for the future. The only way Australia will ever get its budgets balanced and be able to work with families to achieve a better life style for themselves and for their communities is for there to be a change of government. May the next budget be delivered by a different Treasurer and a different government which will be competent and manage our economy properly.

Kate Ellis (Adelaide, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Early Childhood and Childcare) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am delighted with this opportunity to respond to the very real ways that the budget of this government is assisting with the cost-of-living pressures on Australian families. In doing so, I will do something that you did not hear once out of the 15-minute rant we just heard from the member opposite. That is to actually talk about some real measures, some real policies, some real costings and some real funded responses to benefit Australian families.

Did anyone hear one single policy from those opposite that would assist Australians with their cost-of-living pressures? Not one single idea, not one single real funded policy at all was put forward on a day when we are meant, according to the Leader of the Opposition, to hear a detailed plan from those opposite outlining what they would do in a budget put in place today to assist Australians with cost-of-living concerns.

I am going to start with one very simple principle that has led this government since our very first day. That is that one of the very best ways to address cost-of-living pressures for families is to foster an environment that provides jobs for families and that is exactly what this government have done. As a result, since we came to government more than a 950,000 jobs have been created. That is 490 jobs per day created since we were elected in 2007, whilst around the world we saw millions join unemployment queues. Around the developed world nations todays are still dealing with unemployment rates double, triple and more than what we have here in Australia. We were not prepared to sit back on our hands during the GFC as those opposite would have had us do and see Australia slip into recession. We know that the best support we can give for Australian families is an economy that supports jobs and support growth. So we are proud to be presiding over an unemployment rate right now that stands at 5.5 per cent, one of the lowest in the industrialised world. In this budget we have kept our commitment to helping Australians to get and keep jobs, real commitment unlike the uncosted lack of policies and rants from those opposite.

Through funding in this budget, the great work of our local employment coordinators will continue in 20 regions that are doing it the toughest in this country. There we will work at the grassroots and stand shoulder to shoulder with the communities that are not sharing in our prosperity. This is a great program. It is a program that has been singled out by the OECD as a best practice example of helping people get into jobs. Regions right around Australia will benefit from the $10.7 million announced in this week's budget for investment in local projects and partnerships. Communities in Ballarat, Bendigo, Bundaberg, Cairns, south-east Melbourne, south-west Perth, the Tweed and Clarence Valley and in northern Adelaide will benefit.

The program also includes support for more jobs and skills expos, something that this government has been incredibly proud to put on in places right around Australia that were hit hardest during the GFC. These have been incredibly successful. What we are talking about is real results and real support for Australian families and we know that, through the jobs expos we have already held, over 26,000 Australians have been placed in jobs. That is a real support not just to those individuals but to their families and their local communities and local economies. This is something that we are proud to continue to support in the budget that the Treasurer outlined this week.

We know that throughout the GFC we have focused on keeping people in jobs, in creating new apprenticeships and on maintaining economic growth. Our responsible budget strategy has seen Australia achieve the AAA credit rating from all three global ratings agencies for the first time in our history, something that the Liberals could not achieve in over 11 years in office. When it comes to our responsible strategy, the proof is in the pudding. In the worst economic conditions in 80 years, our economy is 13 per cent larger. We have had solid growth and we have had contained inflation. We are the 12th biggest economy in the world, up from 15th. With Labor, our economy has grown more than six times faster then the economies of Germany and the United States. This is how we assist Australians with cost-of-living pressures, this is how we budget to make sure that Australians who would be left behind under the control of those opposite are supported by their government.

But if we want to talk about some more specific facts-and we did not hear a single one of from those opposite—let's put some on the table. Let's talk about some of the other supports that we have in place through this budget for families with their cost-of-living pressures

Perhaps we could talk about the lower taxes, the three consecutive rounds of tax cuts in addition to tripling the tax-free threshold, and the one million fewer people who are paying income tax—anyone on $50,000 is paying $2,000 less in tax. That is a very real measure, one that we are proud to have put in place. We could talk about the schoolkids bonus giving eligible families with two kids—one in primary school and one in secondary school—over $1,200 a year. The schoolkids bonus is one of the few measures we have heard those opposite actually outline. They would scrap it and rip it away from those families who need it the most, making their cost of living issues even harder. We could talk about the historic increase to the age pension. Single pensioners on the maximum rate are now $5,300 a year better off. We know we are a government that wants to support those who are most vulnerable in our community, who wants to ensure that people do not get left behind and that recognises that older Australians, who worked their guts out for decades to build this country, should be looked after in their older age.

DisabilityCare Australia, the NDIS, is now law and will support hundreds of thousands of Australians with a disability in their families. We know that, in terms of cost of living, bulk billing rates have never been higher than under this government, reaching a record high last year with an average of 81.7 per cent of GP services bulk billed. This is a stark contrast to when Tony Abbott was health minister, when the bulk billing rates hit rock bottom at just 67 per cent.

Before I get to specific measures—and measures which were mentioned by those opposite interjecting earlier—in my portfolio area, around childcare in particular, I want to talk about a couple of other budget decisions which will be incredibly important for those who have been struggling with cost of living issues. Perhaps in the budget from 20 March next year we could look at lifting the income-free area for Newstart and other allowances from $62 to $100 a fortnight. We will also be making study more rewarding for single parents on Newstart by allowing them to keep the pensioner education supplement. Finally, we will also let single parents who are transitioning from the parenting payment and off income support to keep their pensioner concession card for 12 weeks instead of two. All of these are real supports. All of these will assist Australians and their families with their cost of living issues. All of these stand in stark contrast to the policy-free zone that we see opposite us in this parliament, just months out from a national election, where they do not have a single policy to help Australians with these critical issues. There is our $1.1 billion income support bonus from this week's budget being rolled out. That is more than $210 for singles and $350 for couples, a permanent increase to payments paid for by this government—something that the coalition voted against. These are all facts, something that those opposite seem to be allergic to.

I would like to particularly focus on an area where I know it can be really hard for families: the area of childcare fees. That is an additional burden on their budget, and we have provided extra in that regard. In this area, our government and those opposite are absolutely worlds apart. In fact, what we saw in this week's budget is that we have more than tripled the investment in early childhood education and care from the level that those opposite were happy to see it stand at when they were in government. We do this because we know that these are the most critical years in a child's life. We also do it because we know it is incredibly important for parents to have some fee assistance when they are juggling the costs of this. We know that this is a record investment to improve access to quality care.

In a time that is a tough budget environment, in a time where we have found $48 billion in savings, we have increased our assistance in this vital area for Australian families. We have already increased the childcare rebate from 30 per cent to 50 per cent. We have already increased the cap from $4,354, where it stood under those opposite, up to $7,500 per child per year. In this budget, we have made a number of key choices around this. We know that it is vital for families to have assistance when it comes to childcare. We have decided that the rebate is not reduced; it stays at 50 per cent of the total cost for families. The cap on that rebate is not lowered; it stays at $7,500 per child per year. There are an unlimited number of childcare places that we will continue to fund. These payments are not means tested and are available for parents right across Australia so that we can assist them with their cost of living pressures and their move back into the workplace.

But let's talk about choices. We know that those opposite would put all of these vital childcare payments for Australian families under threat, because, rather than having a policy, rather than confirming that they will not cut, means test or reduce the cap on the childcare rebate back to where in was when they were in government, they say to the Australian public, 'We'll do a review after the election and then we'll tell you what we are going to do your childcare assistance.' They say to the Australian public: 'Just trust us. We're not telling you that we won't means test it; we're not telling you that we won't cut it; but we will let you know after the election how much childcare fee assistance we will give you.'

I say to the Australian public that we have seen this before. We have seen this from state governments right around the country—and we know what this means. This means, 'We will cut your assistance, we will cut your programs and we will not tell you until after the election.' Every time those opposite say: 'We'll review childcare payments. We'll send it to the Productivity Commission to do an inquiry and report back to us and we won't give any assurances about what will or will not remain in place,' I would just remind people of one thing: every time we have asked the Productivity Commission to look at childcare, they have come back with the same recommendations. The recommendations are that we roll it into a single payment and that we introduce means testing. That is what they have said previously and that is what those opposite have refused to rule out doing after the election. I believe that cost of living pressures are incredibly important for Australian families. I believe that childcare fee assistance is incredibly important to Australian families. I believe that Australian families deserve to know what sort of fee assistance they would get under those opposite and I believe that tonight, in the budget reply, those opposite should come clean about what their plans are for childcare fee assistance and stop hiding under a post-election review.

But, of course, we know it is not just about childcare. It is right across the board. They have already outlined that they will follow the pattern laid out by state governments around Australia. They will look at an audit post the election. They will look at what they can slash and what they can cut just like their state colleagues have done.

And, of course, when talking about the cost of living, we are hearing more and more about their real plans on industrial relations. We have heard more and more over the last few days. When it comes to cost-of-living support what Australian families need to know is that they have real penalty rates. They need to know that their wages are safe. They need to know that their conditions at work are not under threat. We know that it is in the DNA of those opposite—and we have heard it over the last few days and again today from Peter Reith—that they cannot be trusted. The party of Work Choices was and always will be the party that will be looking to strip wages and conditions from Australian workers.

I am very proud to talk about the real supports that we have put forward in our budget. The core principle of giving everyone a fair go and constantly striving to ensure that no-one gets left behind is in Labor's DNA. We know that it is in our DNA to put in place new and real measures to assist with the cost of living. That why this is a budget which protects those measures, which introduces real supports and which has funded policies and plans—which stands in stark contrast to those opposite, who say nothing except, 'Trust us; we will tell you what we are going to do after the election.' Today is the day that we all say that that is not good enough.

Tonight is the opportunity for the Leader of the Opposition to spell out exactly how he would assist Australian families with cost-of-living pressures, exactly how those policies will be funded and exactly what will be cut to the bone in order to support their ideology and the measures that we are seeing right across Australia. If anyone out there wants to see what this Liberal Party would look like if they came to federal government I would say to them that they should look to Queensland. Look to Campbell Newman. Look to the job cuts. Look to the programs that have been slashed. Look at what they are doing, in stark contrast to the assistance we are giving Australian families.

Kevin Andrews (Menzies, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Families, Housing and Human Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The reality is that Australian families are paying for the economic and fiscal incompetence of the Gillard-Rudd government. Not only is this an incompetent government—perhaps the most incompetent government that has ever graced the Treasury benches in this place—but it is also one that is fundamentally dishonest. From the very start, this has been a government that has been prepared to deceive the Australian people—'There will be no carbon tax under a government I lead.' Prime Ministers are often remembered for a phrase or some words. John Howard's famous quip about 'deciding who would come to Australia' is remembered by Australians. Well, if there is one phrase that Australians will remember this Prime Minister by it will be: 'There will be no carbon tax under a government I lead.'

That promise that she made and then ripped up when it became politically convenient to ensure that she was able to sit in that chair and take her place in The Lodge set the tone for the Labor government that we have seen ever since. And the budget presented this week again shows the fundamental dishonesty of this government. We had it last year with the overblown spin and hype from the Treasurer, with words to the effect of: 'I'm announcing tonight four surpluses over the forward estimates into the future.' They were the words that the Treasurer started last year's budget speech with. Well, here we are just over 12 months later. What has happened to those four fabulous surpluses that the Treasurer promised the Australian people 12 months ago? You had to be listening hard to his budget speech this year to actually find what the deficit for this year is. That fabulous surplus turns into a $19.4 billion deficit for this financial year.

But it is not just this year; next year there is an $18 billion deficit and the following year an $11 billion deficit. So four years of surplus suddenly turns into $19 billion plus $18 billion plus $11 billion worth of deficits—all accumulating and adding to the total debt of the Commonwealth of Australia. Those on the other side pretend that the debt of the Commonwealth of Australia somehow does not matter. But the frank reality is that it is the debt of all of us. We are the Commonwealth of Australia. You are the stewards for the people of Australia. And how have you conducted your stewardship? With fundamental incompetence and dishonesty.

Those opposite cannot even be honest in the way they describe things. Listen to the conceptual language used by the Treasurer in question time today and on other occasions—the corruption of language which has occurred under this government. They talk about 'saves'. If you ask an ordinary Australian what a saving is they would say that a saving is that you do not spend what you might have otherwise spent—when you put the money in the bank, so to speak. That is what we understand a 'saving' to be. But we have got this new piece of political corruption of language going on in which the Treasurer and others opposite talk about 'saves'. What are those 'saves'? A large proportion of those 'saves' are actually tax increases. If you said to ordinary Australians, 'Saving money involves increasing the taxes on Australians,' do you think that people would believe that that is actually a saving? Of course not. That again goes to the fundamental dishonesty of this government—dishonesty in terms of the language that is being used in this place and elsewhere, where a 'save', connoting somehow that that is a saving in terms of expenditure, is actually an increase in taxes on ordinary Australians.

Let's go to the slogan that is being used about this budget. This is a budget, we are told, that is about growth and jobs. If somebody said positively that this is something about growth and jobs, what would your expectation be from the budget, from the government's program? The expectation would be that growth is going to increase and, equally, that jobs are going to increase. That is fair enough. That is what they are trying to pretend to the Australian people that this budget is about—growth and jobs. Well, lo and behold, look inside the budget papers themselves and see what they actually show. In terms of growth, the forecast from the Treasury is that growth is going to go down, not up. So it would be more accurate to say that this is about a lack of growth, about an absence of growth, about a decline in growth, than to somehow pretend, through their slogans and spin—their fundamental dishonesty with the Australian people—that this is somehow about growth.

And what about jobs? Again, look inside the budget papers. In those papers it shows the unemployment rate in Australia increasing, not decreasing. If we are talking about an increase in jobs then the corollary of that is that the unemployment rate goes down. And yet the detail of these budget papers shows the employment rate going up to 5.75 per cent from 5.5 per cent where it is now. Even to use the expression that this is a budget about growth and jobs is a fundamental dishonesty. It is trying to pretend one thing to the Australian people when in fact the opposite is happening, and that is why I say this is not only the most incompetent government we have probably seen in the history of the federation of the Commonwealth of Australia, it is a fundamentally dishonest government as well. If you look at that in terms of what this means for ordinary Australians, it means that they are going to pay for it. Australian families are paying for this incompetence.

Consider the position of families in Australia under this government. In he cost-of-living increases since Labor came to power—the December quarter of 2007 through to the March quarter of 2013—nationally, across Australia, Australians are paying 93.8 per cent more for their electricity, almost a doubling in electricity prices under this government. Australians are paying 63.1 per cent more for their water and sewerage. For utilities, they are paying 79.2 per cent more—again, almost a doubling. Gas, up by 61.8 per cent. Even insurance has gone up under the duration of this government by 45.4 per cent. The government talks about schools—and I will come to that in a moment—education expenses and education costs have gone up by 38.7 per cent. Medical and hospital services—these are fundamental services that we are talking about—increased by 40.9 per cent. If you do not own your house and you are renting—many Australians are in that situation—30 per cent increase in rental prices in Australia. Of course, that has been compounded since the introduction of the carbon tax because, since the introduction of that, we have had electricity up by 18 per cent, and gas and other household fuels have increased by 14.1 per cent since the introduction on 1 July.

If you want to go to the dishonesty again in this government, I said that education prices have gone up by 38.7 per cent. Again, if you listen to this government, it says one of the lynchpins of this government is an increase in actual education reforms. Somehow, after the Gonski reforms we are going to be better off. A graph taken for the budget papers—it is not our graph, it is the budget papers' graph produced by the Treasurer—shows that over the next three years there are going to be more savings for the government from education reforms than there are from increased school expenditure. Once again, pretending one thing, spinning it one way, trying to convert the Australian people to believing that the government is doing the right thing. When you go to the detail in the budget papers themselves, what do we find? Totally the opposite.

So Australian families are paying for the incompetence of this government. Whether or not it is the changes to the family tax benefits, whether it is the slashing of the baby bonus—a measure put in place to try and do something to ensure that we maintain a replacement level, or near replacement level, of fertility rate in Australia, these changes and the other changes are being paid for by Australian families, and why? Because this government is incompetent, and now it is being dishonest about it. The combination of an incompetent and dishonest government is something which Australians have found out and they know about it, because as I go around this country—as all my colleagues do—wherever you go in this country, people will tell you straightaway, 'Why can't we have an election tomorrow?' They want to have an election tomorrow because they are sick and tired of the incompetence and now sick and tired of the dishonesty of this government.

The reality is that until we get a decent Treasurer—if somehow the Labor Party win the next election, you can be assured that Mr Swan will not be the Treasurer, his colleagues would make sure that—we are not going to have a decent command of the books in Australia, and Australia will not be prosperous as a result.

Yvette D'Ath (Petrie, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is my pleasure to speak on this matter of public importance. I was starting to wonder whether in fact we were speaking on the matter of public importance. It took the member for Wide Bay nine minutes to mention the word 'families'—

Ken Wyatt (Hasluck, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

One minute.

Yvette D'Ath (Petrie, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

and it took the member for Menzies nine minutes to use the word 'families'.

Kevin Andrews (Menzies, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Families, Housing and Human Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It was in my first sentence

Honourable members interjecting—

Yvette D'Ath (Petrie, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is in relation to Australian families. At what point did we redefine the meaning of 'Australian families' to exclude people with disabilities? When did we stop thinking of people with disabilities as part of a family? Those on the opposite side keep saying there is nothing in this budget for families; there is no help for families in this budget. In fact, the Leader of the Opposition said yesterday, 'No hope in the budget.' We see from the MPI that according to the opposition there is no help for families, no easing of cost-of-living pressures.

Despite hearing from the other side that they support the National Disability Insurance Scheme and the establishment of DisabilityCare Australia, what we see is the real truth when it comes to the opposition—how they value real reform in relation to disability care. They say there is nothing in this budget for families, and I say there is everything in this budget for families. There are families all over this country with children who have disabilities, family members who have disabilities, husband and wives who have disabilities, parents who have disabilities that are being cared for by family members. When do we in this country acknowledge these people as being Australian families? It is about time the opposition did.

We want to hear about slogans and what leaders are known for. We heard the member for Menzies talk about phrases from leaders, what they are known for and what people remember. I also remember the Leader of the Opposition saying there would be no paid parental leave 'over my dead body'. The question is: if there was paid parental leave over his dead body, why is it that, in coming into government, the opposition would like to slug over 3,000 companies with a new tax to pay for paid parental leave? If we want to talk about well-known statements by leaders in this country I am happy to talk about the statements that the Leader of the Opposition has made in the past.

But let us acknowledge what we are doing for people with disabilities in this country. It would be really great to hear from those on the other side that they actually appreciate the value of that help and what it means for the hundreds of thousands of Australians with a significant and permanent disability and for their families and carers. That money will also mean peace of mind for every Australian. Anyone who has or might acquire a disability will have a new safety net to rely on. To those who say that there is nothing in this budget, my question is: what are you actually saying in relation to disability reform in this country that you are not genuine about supporting it?

This government is about providing a stronger, smarter and fairer system in this country. It is about supporting jobs and growth in this country. Again, those from the other side who have spoken on this MPI talked about there being no support for jobs or employment, in this budget. What do they think comes from investment in infrastructure? I was very disappointed to see that the member for Wide Bay, a Queenslander, did not stand up and support a budget that supports investment in infrastructure in Queensland. I heard him criticise the flood levy, a flood levy that helped rebuild Queensland after the significant floods in 2011. But when we talk about this budget, about investment in Brisbane—the Cross River Rail, the Gateway upgrade north, the Ipswich motorway, the $4.1 billion into the Bruce Highway package, the Warrego Highway upgrade, the Moreton Bay rail link—where was the opposition on these issues, on this investment in infrastructure?

We talk about what we are doing, about cost-of-living pressures and families. How about the fact that it is this government that introduced Australia's first paid parental leave scheme, that it is this federal Labor government that lifted the childcare rebate to 50 per cent, that it is this government that introduced the schoolkids bonus, that it is this federal Labor government that lifted the rate of the family tax benefit part A for teenagers, and that it is this federal Labor government that introduced the dad and partner pay? We do not hear those opposite talking about these initiatives.

We also heard that there are tax slugs for families. What about the fact that under this federal Labor government we have lower interest rates than at any time under the Liberals, saving more than $100 per week on an average mortgage? What about the lower taxes? There have been three consecutive rounds of tax cuts in addition to tripling the tax-free threshold. One million fewer people are paying income tax, and anyone on $50,000 is paying $2,000 less—that is how you help families in this country. I do not hear the opposition talking about those things. What about the fact that over 950,000 jobs have been created at a time when 28 million have been lost worldwide? What about the fact that our unemployment rate of 5.6 per cent is less than half that of Europe's, of 11.9 per cent? What about our AAA rating? If you want to take pressure off families, these are the things you have to talk about. What about low-income superannuation contributions? They were put in place from 1 July 2012—a tax cut of up to $500 per financial year to help low-income earners save for their retirement. How about the fact that if you actually want to help families into the future you give them the best education possible; you invest in high skills, in high-paying jobs. You do that by investing in education, industry and innovation in this country. You invest in research and development. That is what you do.

It took a federal Labor government to introduce a national curriculum across the country. For the first time, no matter where you go to school, you are learning the same thing. As someone who moved across borders as a child, I appreciate how far it can set a kid back to move across schools and find that they are teaching a single subject in a completely different way. You do not even have to move across borders; just by moving across government schools within a local area you would find they were teaching different things in subjects. That sets a kid back. A national curriculum is important, but so is investing in computers, libraries and multipurpose halls and new classrooms. What did the opposition do when they were in government? They provided flagpoles. That is great, but it does not help these kids' education.

How about investing in social housing and rental affordability? We have just announced a further $1 billion in new funding under the latest National Rental Affordability Scheme. If you want to talk about how to ease cost-of-living pressures on families, how about easing those rental costs in properties? I welcome the new NRAS properties in my electorate and the ones that have been built that have supported jobs in our local community and have provided more affordable accommodation in our local area.

If you want to talk about electricity prices and the carbon price, let us do that. Let us talk about the fact that the annual review shows that the household assistance has come out and provided adequate and effective support for families, because those cost-of-living pressures—electricity prices—as a component of the carbon price have gone up by less than the amount we have provided to families. If you look at what the individual states are providing in that area, you will see from their own figures—not ours—that last month in New South Wales the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal electricity price determination ascribed $3.25 to the carbon price there. In South Australian the regulator ascribed a $1.47 per week increase because of the carbon price; in Western Australia, $2.50 per week; and in Tasmania, $2.45 a week. So if those opposite want to talk about electricity prices, be honest: it is the network charges that are the problem, but I do not see one Liberal state government stepping up and doing anything about those cost-of-living pressures.

Let us talk about the opposition. We heard the member for Wide Bay say, 'We hope we would do better if we were in government.' Let us look at the 11 years that the Howard government was in government and having a surplus. Did they invest in health? No, they took money out. Did they invest in education? No. Did they improve the lives of people with disabilities? No. Did they invest in infrastructure across this country? Not at all, and we hear that they will still not do it. And they would not put one dollar into rail across this country. Urban rail is not a priority. Did we see them lift the base pension for pensioners when they were in government? No. It is only federal Labor that does that. (Time expired)

Louise Markus (Macquarie, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I heard members on this side start with a statement about Australian families. Australian families deserve a stable, competent government that lives within their means and serves the best interests of those they supposedly seek to serve, and particularly to relieve the cost-of-living pressures that everyday Australians—mums and dads, families, single-parent families, families that are endeavouring to make a way for their children—face on a daily basis.

This week the families of Australia have been hit once again by the economic mismanagement of an incompetent government. Families are endeavouring week by week, day by day, month by month, to juggle their income and their expenses; making decisions between paying a bill or buying food, whether to meet the needs of their children at school, paying for an excursion or paying a lighting bill. These are the challenges that everyday families are facing on a day-to-day basis.

It seems that the other side, the government of the day, fails to understand. My question is: are you really listening? Are you listening to the needs of your communities? I am not sure that you are. In fact I question that on a daily basis when I speak to the families in my community, when I knock on their door, when I see them when I am out at a street stall, and they come to me and say, 'Louise, I cannot pay my bills.'

The budget does nothing to help Australian families deal with cost-of-living pressures, economic uncertainty and poor services. It does little to provide them with hope for their future. After six years of rising prices and increasing costs, our families need a break. The phrase 'cost of living' is not just a phrase; it bears little weight I think with the government of the day. What the government of the day fails to understand is that behind this phrase are thousands of families—small families, large families, single-parent families—that are doing it tough. These families are living with the fear of getting hit with another bill that they simply cannot afford. They plan a budget but then the bills keep rising. The budget blows out. But they are endeavouring to manage to live within their means; something that this government is failing to do.

Families are trying to make household budgets stretch, to pay rents or mortgages, groceries, bills, petrol, school uniforms, textbooks, excursions. It all adds up. We know that parents try to do the best they can, but sometimes the numbers just don't add up and parents may have to go without to provide for their children.

The Australian people have clearly lost faith in this government. At the heart of this growing discontent lies very deep and very real concern that this government is pursuing a course of extraordinary political and economic mismanagement that will burden our nation and people for decades to come.

At the start of National Families Week, this week, Labor's budget has delivered another cruel blow to Australian families. The budget delivers more debt, more deficits, more taxes, more broken promises and a greater level of uncertainty.

Let's look at this government's track record—and this was alluded to by members earlier. Since 2007, the cost of electricity has increased by 93.8 per cent. Water and sewerage has increased 63.1 per cent. Gas has increased 61.8 per cent. Medical and health services are up 40.9 per cent and rents have increased by 30.2 per cent. The member for Menzies mentioned earlier that these are not luxuries; these are basics. These are things that every family, every individual and every community needs to spend money on every week, every month, every year.

And this is just the start. There are numerous initiatives in this budget that disadvantage families. The abolition of the baby bonus is an example; an initiative delivered courtesy of the Intergenerational Report to ensure that Australia maintains an adequate birth rate. This will mean more than 150,000 families will be worse off. The increase to the Medicare levy will also hit family budgets. The average Australian family earning $70,000 a year will be $350 worse off. There was also the broken promise of child care. Child care was talked about earlier. Labor have broken their promise that the indexation of the childcare rebate would recommence in 2014.

Labor simply cannot be trusted. What is written in black and white by this Labor government today cannot be trusted tomorrow. At a time when childcare costs are increasing for more families, this decision will hurt financially. Families will also be worse off under Labor after the government announced an extension to the indexation pauses on income thresholds for family payments and FTB supplement payments until 2017. This decision will impact the 1.5 million families who receive family tax benefit part A and the 1.3 million families who receive family tax benefit part B, as the FTB supplement payments fail to keep pace with the rising cost of living.

In the electorate of Macquarie there is a strong loss of confidence in both the economic and social future of our country. Families are clearly struggling. I spoke recently to the Stubbs family in Windsor, who have three children; two at school and one in child care. Their main concern has been the rising costs, particularly of their electricity bills. Every quarter it gets harder for them to predict what their bill will be—what will it look like—and it causes incredible levels of stress and uncertainty.

Our welfare centre in Katoomba, run by the Salvation Army, has reported a growing number of families reaching out for help over the last 18 months. This is reflected in every single non-government organisation that hands out emergency relief. People are requesting more help with paying bills, assistance with buying food and clothing.

In fact many of these agencies refer to the 'working poor', families with one or two incomes who are struggling to pay their bills. That is something that was not happening five, six or seven years ago. They have also experienced an increase in participants in their program to assist families with their household budgets. This pattern is consistent across the nation. The number of families needing financial and material assistance through not-for-profit organisations has increased considerably.

Can I say: this was not necessary. Only the coalition has a clear plan for easing the cost-of-living pressures for families. The coalition and I believe in Australia. We believe that all Australians deserve a brighter and more optimistic future. That is why we have a plan to build a stronger, more prosperous nation, so that all Australians can have opportunities in a global economy.

We believe that strong families underpin a strong and flourishing society. They are our foundation. We must support families. We must create an economy and provide opportunities and rewards for hardworking parents. As a coalition we have a clear commitment to families. We will abolish the carbon tax, which has caused significant damage to families with rising utility costs. This tax has failed to achieve reductions in emissions and is hurting everyday Australians—pain with absolutely no gain. We will put downward pressure on prices, getting the ACCC to make sure that prices do not remain artificially raised when we abolish the carbon tax. We will fund personal income tax cuts for individuals and families. We will protect and strengthen Medicare by restoring the private health insurance rebate as soon as we possibly can.

We understand the urgent need for accessible, affordable and flexible child care for families, and we will have the Productivity Commission urgently undertake a major inquiry into the childcare system. We will look at different ways child care can become more flexible and responsive to the differing needs and lifestyles of parents. It is clear that work patterns and demands on parents are different today than they were even a decade ago. We will deliver a genuine paid parental leave scheme to give mothers six months leave based on their actual wage. This will mean that young families are given options and flexibility to balance work and family and will not be forced to survive on a single wage. The truth is, only the coalition understands economic pressure on families and only the coalition has a clear way forward for them.

The government has a spending problem. It has been given enough chances to get it right. Enough is enough. The budget delivers more than $25 billion in higher taxes over the next four years, 99 per cent of which will hit Australians after the next election. After six years of chaos, debt and spin, Australians deserve stable and competent economic management so they can have confidence in a government that will live within its means and that will work to ensure that families have priority and that they have the opportunities, on a foundation that is firm, to step into their future with confidence.

Russell Matheson (Macarthur, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on this matter of public importance today because I hold great concern for the people of Macarthur, who are struggling to make ends meet. I am concerned, but not surprised, that this week's budget has failed to address the cost-of-living pressures on all Australians. Since elected, this Labor government has done nothing to ease cost-of-living pressures for families in my electorate and around the nation. Since 2007 the cost of electricity has increased by 93.8 per cent, the cost of water and sewerage by 63.1 per cent, the cost of gas by 61.8 per cent, the cost of medical and health services by 40.9 per cent, and the cost of rents by 30.2 per cent—certainly not a track record the government would be proud of.

The rising cost of living has had a huge impact on the quality of life of many families in Macarthur. To put it simply: they have had enough. The people of Macarthur are hardworking, honest people who want nothing but the best for their children and the future generations of this country. More than 70 per cent of the workers in my electorate commute out of the area to work every day so they can earn a decent wage and compete with the rising cost of living. They are working hard to pay off their mortgage and balance the family budget. They are trying to decrease their own debt and reduce their credit limits. So you can imagine how frustrating it would be for them to see their own government's wasteful spending result in almost $300 billion of debt, reaching national debt record interest payments of $7.8 billion per year. That is almost $50 million per day in borrowings. The government does not have a revenue problem; it definitely has a spending problem.

Recently thousands of people across Macarthur raised with me, through Macarthur's biggest survey, their concerns about the rising cost of living. More than 90 per cent of our residents who took part in the survey said the cost of living was too high. Many families in my electorate are struggling to make ends meet. I recently met a lovely family in Rosemeadow, who said the rising cost of living means that their children are missing out on some of the things that they once took for granted. Mum and Dad are both working. One income covers the mortgage and the other income barely covers the electricity bills, water bills, grocery bills and council rates—all of which have gone up thanks to this Labor government's record debt and toxic carbon tax. This means there is no money left for the children in this family to take part in after-school activities or sports teams with their friends. There is simply not enough money left in the family budget. Since when did joining a local sports team become a luxury expense? These parents want nothing more than the best for their children but said that there are times when they wonder if working hard to pay off a mortgage and refusing to depend on government handouts is the right thing to do. They want their children to have a bright future but are struggling to stay on top of the bills and keep food on the table because of the rising cost of living.

It is obvious to me that, since this Labor government began its wasteful spending, new taxes and broken promises, the quality of life of many people in my electorate has diminished. Labor's carbon tax only adds insult to injury for household budgets that are already under pressure. The carbon tax was met with great contempt by the people of Macarthur. The increased cost for small businesses and the rise in electricity prices for local residents mean they are struggling to make ends meet. I have shaken the freezing-cold hands of pensioners in their homes, where they are too scared to turn on their heaters because of their fear of rising electricity prices. One lady told me she has cut back to eating one meal a day and showering every second day because she is fearful of her rising electricity bills—fear, insecurity and instability all caused by this reckless government. The message I am hearing in Macarthur is very clear: families and small businesses are desperate for a government they can have confidence in . Families are struggling with the rising cost of living, and businesses are closing down under the uncertainty of this Labor government. The two most frequent issues raised with me by residents in Macarthur have been the rising cost of living and this government's debt. The decent, hardworking people in my electorate are really doing it tough, and the government is not paying attention.

Ms Hall interjecting—

It is a bit like the member for Shortland: the lights are on, but nobody's home. She also interjects all the time.

Not only are they struggling with the cost-of-living pressures, but they also see no relief in this week's budget from a government that has lost touch with everyday Australians. On Tuesday night Macarthur residents were let down by another bad budget. Labor have delivered a fifth record deficit in five years, yet they claim they will return the budget to surplus in three years. How can you trust them? The people of Macarthur and the people of Australia are not easily fooled. They have been let down too many times before and see that this Labor government have no credible path back to surplus. Revenue in 2013-14 is projected to be $80 billion higher than at the end of the Howard government. Yet with this budget spending in 2013-14 will be $120 billion higher than it was at the end of the Howard government.

Over the past five years the government has spent $192 billion more than it has raised. Expenditure as a percentage of GDP has been higher every year under a Labor government compared with the last years of the Howard government. Labor's interest payments are now at almost $20 million a day. The budget delivers more than $25 billion in higher taxes over the next four years. To rub salt into the wounds of all Australians, this budget includes an extra $100 million in spending on government advertising. How can this government justify the $100 million on advertising when pensioners in my electorate cannot afford to heat their homes or have a shower every day?

This week's budget has certainly failed to address the rising cost of living. In fact, it has only made it worse. Families will be worse off with the government's announcement to extend the pause on the income thresholds for family payments and the family tax benefit supplement payments until 2017. This decision will impact upon 1.5 million families who receive family tax benefit part A and 1.3 million families who received family tax benefit part B, as these supplement payments fail to keep pace with the rising cost of living. The Labor government's decision to scrap these planned family tax benefits will impact upon 12,261 families in Macarthur. This benefit would have provided up to $300 to eligible families with one child and up to $600 for families with two or more children. What happened to the government's promise to spread the benefits of the boom? It is just another broken promise and other let down for the people of Macarthur.

Labor also made promises on company tax for businesses at the last election and then took them away last year, saying the money would go towards family payments instead. Now those family payments have been taken away before they were meant to start. Families across the country are literally paying the price of this government's reckless spending and waste.

I can tell you now that more than 12,000 Macarthur families have taken a clear message away from this decision: Labor cannot be trusted to keep its promises nor honour its word. Labor promised no carbon tax, a budget surplus, 500,000 new jobs and increased family payments. Every one of these promises has been broken. The people of Macarthur deserve a government that sticks to its word. They deserve a government that will focus on sensible economic management, with a strong plan to pay back the debt and return to balanced budgets. Labor's latest attacks on family support payments and household budgets have come at a time when families can least afford it.

Macarthur families will also suffer as a result of this budget's broken promise on child care. At a time when childcare costs are increasing, Labor has broken its promise that the indexation of the childcare rebate would recommence in 2014. Another broken promise. The increase to the Medicare levy will also mean that the average Australian family earning $70,000 will be $350 a year worse off.

Record debt and rising costs of living for Australian families are also the result of a long list of incompetent polices that this government has blundered in its short time in office: the border protection fiasco, pink batts, set-top boxes and the BER school halls debacle. They raised 'cash for clunkers' and dropped it like a hot potato. Then there is the carbon tax promise. All of these failed policies have come at a huge cost to taxpayers across Australia and have contributed to the massive debt we find ourselves in.

It is not just families and businesses that are struggling with the rising cost of living. Charities in my electorate are also feeling the pinch. Charities and not-for-profit agencies have to spend much of their hard-earned money on rising bills rather than on those doing it tough in the community. In this country we now have an urgent need for a government that is focused on the needs of all Australians.

I stand here today as a proud member of the coalition, because I know that a stable and secure coalition government will help the people of Macarthur. The first thing we will do is get rid of the carbon tax. We will reduce regulation by $1 billion. We will cut back on government waste and mismanagement. We will introduce new economic policies that will ensure a stable and well-run economy. The coalition has the experience and the discipline to return a budget to sustainable surpluses, reduce debt and provide real support for Macarthur families to help them get ahead again. A coalition government would give businesses in Macarthur the certainty they need to prosper. We will create stronger jobs growth by building a diverse, world-class, five-pillar economy and we will generate one million new jobs over the next five years.

My hope for the sake of my children and future grandchildren is that this country will never again be in the financial mess that it is in now. The people of Australia and the people of Macarthur deserve better. They deserve a government that will reduce the cost of living by bringing the budget to sustainable surpluses and reducing the debt. They deserve the right to be excited about the future of our country and the future of their families. After six years of chaos, debt and spin the people of Macarthur are desperately seeking stable and competent economic management. A coalition government will build a strong, prosperous economy, a safe and secure Australia and restore the hope, rewards and opportunity that the people of Macarthur deserve.

Discussion concluded.